How to Raise a Respectful Child

Regardless of background and whether they like them or not, children must learn to be respectful to others and treat everyone fairly. It's a vital social skill that can help avoid lots of awkward situations and allow them to get along with those around them. To learn about how you might go about this, we have some expert tips from a prep school in Kent.

Teach Them Good Manners

Using good manners is a way of showing others respect. You can start by getting your child in the habit of saying please and thank you and exploring other ways of handling situations, for example apologising when they are wrong.

Explore Table Manners

Following the theme of manners, there's table etiquette that must be learned when eating at a table with others. Children must learn to keep their mouths closed while eating, not talk with a mouthful, be respectful towards others sitting at the table, engage in polite conversation and not go on their phones.

Build Their Listening Skills

As for actually communicating with others, listening is vital. Interrupting, not listening to what others have to say and asking them to repeat themselves can come across as rude and paint a poor image.

Work On Empathy And Emotional Intelligence

You may find it easier to get your child to think about how they would feel in others’ situations and the way they would want to be treated as there’s no way you can train your child for every single social situation. To help them with this, you should work towards building their emotional intelligence and pose questions about how they would feel if something similar were to happen to them.

In addition to the above, also be sure to set a good example for your child and treat those around you with respect and kindness.

*Collaborative post